Friday, 23 August 2013

East Midlands food manufacturers are being urged to attend a free event focusing on accreditation in the wake of news that one of the major supermarkets will be carrying out unannounced audits on the producers of their brand food products.

Trade organisation The Food and Drink Forum annually stages an event which turns the spotlight on the BRC (British Retail Consortium) standards.

These accreditations are a benchmark in quality standards and are required by many retailers before they will stock a manufacturer’s products.

Last year The Forum staged a BRC Unravelled event to give East Midlands food and drink manufacturers more information about the standard and the developments which occurred with the introduction of issue 6.

This year it is running a free follow-up event on September 26th from 7.45am to 10am in conjunction with Giltbrook Workwear at Giltbrook Workwear’s premises in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. It will focus on activity surrounding the certification since the introduction of changes (issue six) last year.

“This event is especially pertinent, since ASDA announced in June that from October 1st 2013, all manufacturers of ASDA brand food products must have their BRC audits undertaken as ‘unannounced option 1’ which means that manufacturers need to be ready at any time for an audit,” said Food and Drink Forum senior technical manager Richard Wigley.

“I would strongly advise East Midlands food manufacturers to attend our free event on September 26th to find out more about BRC and other food standards such as SALSA.”

The event will provide an insight into BRC and other food standards, information on cost-saving skills and tools, expert advice from The Food and Drink Forum senior technical manager, the chance to understand how organisations like Giltbrook Workwear, Surepak Ltd and The Sherwood Press Group can help with equipment and services to maintain BRC standards.

If you have BRC or are looking to achieve it, having a supply chain of BRC certified companies provides traceability and easier management of your BRC certification.

This event also provides the opportunity to tour Giltbrook’s premises, a high quality work wear facility.

It is aimed at food and drink manufacturers in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland who are considering implementing BRC, SALSA or another food standard, who have BRC and would like to discuss any issues, or who would like more information about accreditation.

Places are free for food and drink producers and manufacturers and can be booked by emailing enquiries@foodanddrinkforum.co.uk

The Food and Drink Forum was launched in 1998, and operates across the East Midlands as a business support organisation for the food and drink sector. It is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham.

Thursday, 22 August 2013

Croots Farm Shop has scooped a clutch of new accolades after winning four awards at Bakewell Show.

The Derbyshire farm shop based near Duffield won a gold award for its home-made haslet and a silver award for its pork, apple and Stilton sausage.

The shop also scooped two bronze awards for its corned beef and its BBQ chicken sausage.
The accolades came just a few days after Croots won one star gold awards for its pork, apple and Stilton sausage, its Shire ale, and its Croots crunchy fruit muesli in the Great Taste Awards 2013, which are one of the highest regarded prizes of the fine food industry.

“All the staff were delighted to hear about our success at the Bakewell Show,” said Steve Croot, who runs the farm shop at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road. “Our pork, apple and Stilton sausage is proving to be a real winner.”

The sausages and meat products are all created in-house by the Croots team of butchers, who have won numerous awards.

Croots Farm Shop opened its doors in June 2008, and has recently expanded with a much larger café and restaurant, Shires Eatery.

On Saturday August 24th it will be staging a free vintage and classic car day, as well as a burger festival, cheese sampling and wine tasting.

Croots Farm Shop is open Sundays from 10am to 4pm (Shires Eatery until 3.45pm), and from Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). It is closed on Mondays.

Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Four Nottingham companies have played a pivotal role in designing and building an impressive new visitor centre for Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast.

Focus Consultants project managed the development on behalf of IWM (Imperial War Museums), having previously undertaken the feasibility study for the new Quayside Pavilion and given funding research support for the scheme.

Architects CPMG designed the striking new centre which has transformed the entrance to the iconic London landmark on the River Thames.

Other members of the project team were Couch Perry Wilkes, who handled the mechanical and electrical engineering aspects, and structural engineers Price & Myers.

The new Quayside Pavilion features improved entrance facilities, a ground floor café and shop and a dramatic rooftop bar. Its opening comes 75 years after the launch of HMS Belfast, one of the most significant surviving Second World War Royal Navy warships of her type, and now a museum based between Tower Bridge and London Bridge.

“HMS Belfast is an important part of UK heritage and a key tourist attraction, and we are proud to have been a part of the team that has given this museum ship a stunning new entrance centre,” said Mike Lee, associate at Focus Consultants, which is based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and has branches in London, Leicester, Lincoln and in Boston.

Focus has worked on significant heritage sites across the country, and is currently project managing a prestigious multi-million pound redevelopment at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, and is on the framework agreement to develop and deliver temporary exhibitions at the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Richard Flisher, director at CPMG, said: “We’re delighted to have successfully completed such a high profile second project for The Imperial War Museum, not many projects are built on stilts in the Thames! We plan to further expand our portfolio of projects in the London area and in pursuit of this aim we are already refurbishing the National Autistic Society Headquarters in Islington, we have just received planning consent for the £18m Quest Academy in Croydon and have recently commenced work on a major waste to energy project in the Thames Estuary.”

The Quayside Pavilion replaces an entrance structure which had been in place 20 years. The redevelopment will improve access for groups, schools, corporate clients and service deliveries via a new gangway.
Its new dramatic roof top café-bar allows visitors to enjoy the stunning views of the historic ship and surrounding London landmarks, including Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and City Hall.

Focus Consultants carried out several different roles on the HMS Belfast Quayside Pavilion scheme, including business case and funding research, the options appraisal/feasibility study, and acted as project manager, project co-ordinator, contract administrator and BREEAM assessor.

Thursday, 8 August 2013

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has struck gold in this year’s Great Taste Awards with a trio of gold stars.

The farm shop near Duffield scooped a gold star award for its pork, apple and Stilton sausage, a gold star for its Shire ale, and a gold star for its Croots crunchy fruit muesli.

The awards, run by the Guild of Fine Food, are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the food industry and are highly prized.

“We are thrilled to hear that three of our products have won a gold star in the 2013 Great Taste Awards,” said Steve Croot, who runs the farm shop at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road.
“These awards are rigorously and professionally judged and to win a gold star signifies that a product is really something quite special.”

Last year Croots Farm Shop scooped a two star gold award for its home smoked back bacon. The previous year it won two one star gold Great Taste Awards for its traditional pork pie and its lemon oil. In 2010 another of Croots’ ales, cow juice beer, won a gold star rating, while the previous year the accolade was given to the farm shop’s black pudding sausage.

The latest awards mean that Croots now has eight gold star Great Taste Awards for its own products.

The pork, apple and Stilton sausage and the crunchy fruit muesli are made at the farm shop, while the Shire ale is one of a number of beers made for Croots by Shottle Farm Brewery, near Belper.

“Nearly 10,000 products were entered into the Great Taste Awards this year, but only a fraction received a one, two or three gold star award,” said Steve Croot. “We are honoured that our products have once against been hailed as some of the best of their kind in the country.”

Judges said of the award-winning sausages: “These look good and plump. They cut very easily. Judges like the look of these sausages in their natural casings. There's a strong taste of Stilton and a pleasant, but very smooth texture.”

They described the crunchy fruit muesli as ‘a wholesome product with no compromise on flavour’ and said that the Shire ale had a wonderful aroma that was warm and rich. They went on to add: “There's a good colour to this beer and it has a great clarity. There is also a pleasant sweetness and a lovely burnt - but in a good way - finish. The carbonation is good and delivers a little prickle up front. There's a lovely whisky note too, a slight peatiness, perhaps from the smoked malt. A good example of this type of beer and the judges like the smokiness.”

Croots Farm Shop opened its doors in June 2008, and has recently expanded with a much larger café and restaurant, Shires Eatery.

On Saturday August 24th it will be staging a free vintage and classic car day, as well as a burger festival, cheese sampling and wine tasting.

Croots Farm Shop is open Sundays from 10am to 4pm (Shires Eatery until 3.45pm), and from Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm). It is closed on Mondays.

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Lawnmower specialist SANLI (UK) Ltd has launched three new models to the UK market.

The manufacturer, which produces a range of mowers and gardening equipment, has expanded its collection with the introduction of the LS4135, the LSP4135 and the LSP514.

Designed as superb value petrol mowers for smaller lawns, the LSP4135 and the LS4135 both have a cutting width of 41cm (16 inches), a 50 litre collection bag and a two stroke 118cc petrol engine 3.5hp/2.3kW.

They feature effortless central height adjustment and five different cutting heights, with a cutting height range of 27mm to 72mm. With decks made of treated steel, both models weigh 27.5kg – allowing easy manoeuvrability for gardeners.

Special introductory suggested selling prices (SSP) which represent outstanding value for machines that feature central height adjustment and treated steel decks are available on both machines for a limited period.

The LSP4135, a self-propelled mower, has an introductory SSP of £199.99 (usual RRP £219.99), while the LS4135, a push mower, has an introductory SSP of £149.99 (usual RRP £169.99).

Meanwhile, the larger LSP514 model is great for rougher ground and informal gardens. It has efficient rear wheel power drive for smooth self propulsion and large rear wheels for uneven and rougher lawns.

Billed as a four-in-one petrol rotary mower, it offers gardeners four different options for dealing with clippings:
•cut and collect in a 60 litre collection bag
•cut and drop from the rear
•cut and mulch
•cut and side eject

The model has a cutting width of 51cm (20 inches), easy-to-use central cutting height adjustment and ten different cutting heights suitable for a range of 25mm to 90mm.

With a larger engine of 163cc (5.5hp/4.1kW), the LSP514 has a quick release foldable handle and a deck made of treated steel.

Weighing 40kg, the model has a RRP of £399.99, and has recently been the subject of a social media competition on Facebook to raise awareness of the Sanli brand. The competition proved such a success that a second competition – to win a LSP4135 - is now being run.

"These three new Sanli models enable our dealers to offer key features such as central height adjustment and treated steel decks at price points that represent incredibly good value and which are proving attractive to consumers. That's absolutely what we do - well-engineered, reliable lawnmowers at truly outstanding value for money for our trade dealers and their customers alike," said Sanli (UK) Ltd managing director Simon Del-Nevo.

All Sanli mowers come with a one-year warranty for consumers, with a free second year warranty that’s dependant on registration online at www.sanli.co.uk , with the exception of commercial use which has a warranty of 90 days from purchase.

Sanli, which also sells brush cutters, chainsaws, hedge cutters, blowers and generators, supplies almost 200 dealers across the UK. It prides itself on offering a professional Sanli helpline to customers, which is a valuable selling point for its products.

Its website www.sanli.co.uk has been designed to act as a resource for Sanli lawnmower owners, and features useful gardening and mowing information and advice, owner’s manuals and safety sheets, details about offers, product registration, as well as a ‘find a dealer’ search facility.

About Perfect 10 PR

Perfect 10 PR is run by Louise Duffield, who has worked in the media industry since 1987. As a qualified journalist, who has written for both regional and national newspapers and magazines, Louise knows how the media works and what makes a good story.

Here you will find details of client news, updates from Perfect 10 PR, which is based in Nottingham, and the occasional comment.